Todd Pedyo is a tradie with a gift: The gift of song and dance. Trapped in a life of hi-vis and tinnies, She'll Be Right: A Tradie Cabaret tells the story of a musical theatre star just busting to break through the bricks and swap out his hard hat for a bowler.
I quite enjoy attending shows I know nothing about. Particularly with comedy festivals, I avoid reading write-ups and just go, ready to be surprised. Well, surprised I was! From the moment Pedyo steps on stage, the Sondheim starts. Musical theatres jokes are flying, Pedyo's voice is soaring, and any musical theatre nerd in the audience is laughing hysterically.
The (I'm assuming somewhat true) story of Pedyo growing up with a song in his heart and a hammer in his hand is filled with Aussie idioms and showtunes. Cleverly glued together in what is a very interesting and funny show. For the first half hour.
Right on the half hour mark (I checked my watch) the show takes a sharp turn right. Becominging suddenly dependent on voice-overs of various characters, Pedyo is left for much of the second half of the show just staring into space - waiting to reply to a conversation with someone we can't see. It's jarring, it's strange and it feels like the cat stood on the remote and changed the channel.
It is tough to write a one hour comedy show based off of one idea, and whilst the second half of this one is....strange, the first half of this show is solid. The jokes are potent, the songs (well tracked by Kohan Van Sambeeck) are worked in seamlessly, and Pedyo knows how to handle tech issues like a pro. With a bit of tweaking - perhaps some physical actors to play off? - this show could be a musical theatre nerd's delight.
She'll Be Right: A Tradie Cabaret is playing at The Butterfly Club as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival until April 23. Tickets and further information here.